Manage your subscription

Shale gas won’t make Europe energy-independent

THERE is no silver pipelining. The UK’s new environment secretary, Owen Paterson, wants to fast-track the country’s exploitation of shale gas to reduce reliance on imports – but a study pours cold water on the idea.

It had been hoped that the controversial fracking technique could allow Europe to match the US’s success in extracting natural gas from shale rocks. Now the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) says that, at best, Europe’s shale gas will only compensate for its slowing production of conventional gas. Europe will still have to import 60 per cent of its needs, says the JRC’s Unconventional Gas report.

At best, Europe’s shale gas will only compensate for its slowing production of conventional gas